COLLEGE WEDNESDAY: Brockton's Tirone McCray one of the best men's basketball players in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2008 at 12:01 AMJan 30, 2008 at 1:05 AM

Jim Fenton

Tirone McCray began his basketball career at Johnson & Wales University as an unknown player who needed to bulk up his body.

The Brockton resident is now finishing his career at the Providence school as one of the top players in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference.

McCray went from making the Wildcats' roster after not being recruited out of Cardinal Spellman High School to one of their leading options on offense as a junior and senior.

“He's really come pretty far,” said Johnson & Wales coach Jamie Benton. “He came here as a walk-on. We didn't know anything about him as a player. We saw him play on campus, that was about it.”

McCray, a 6-foot-4 forward, went from that quiet beginning to being named to the All-GNAC third team as a junior last winter when he averaged 14.5 points on 50 percent shooting and 5.6 rebounds.

In this, his final season at Johnson & Wales, McCray is scoring 18.7 points on 48 percent shooting and averages 6.7 rebounds to rank among the conference leaders in all three categories.

“It's totally different from when I got here,” said McCray. “I've gone from a walk-on to second on the team in scoring. Coach says it to us every day, 'It's all about hard work.'

“It's been the best feeling. I don't think I'd want to play for any other coach. He's the one who instills hard work in you.”

According to Benton, who played at Boston College with Dana Barros, McCray's skills were apparent the first time he worked out for the coaching staff prior to the 2004-05 season.

Before McCray could get any significant playing time, though, he needed to get bigger, which was what his freshman year was all about.

McCray played just 101 minutes in 15 games that season, scoring 15 points and grabbing 16 rebounds. Most of his time was spent hitting the weights rather than focusing solely on basketball.

“He was so thin,” remembers Benton. “We knew we weren't going to use him that season. He had pretty good skills, but not enough weight to play.

“Right away, you could see the skills that he has now, but his body from high school was just not strong enough. He'd be in the weight room from 5:30-7:30 every night and a coach would go in and check on him. If he was ever going to get a chance to play, he had to get stronger.”

During the initial tryout, Benton could see right away that McCray had the kind of game that could help the Wildcats, if he could only add to the frame.

“He had good hands and he knew how to play the game,” said Bento. “He understood the game, and sometimes with a walk-on, you don't get that.

“He played at a pretty good program in high school and we knew when we saw him that he could play. But he was about 170 pounds and he worked his way to up between 190 and 200. Now he's got definition in his shoulders and chest and his legs are stronger.”

McCray was willing to put all that work in because he “played basketball all my life, since I was five years old in the backyard with my father, and even though I played other sports, it was always my first love.” After sitting and watching as a freshman, McCray started 17 games as a sophomore, averaging 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 18 minutes.

Last season was a breakout year for McCray, as he averaged 32.5 minutes, starting all 26 games, and scoring in double figures. That was a prelude to this season as McCray, a team captain, has helped Johnson & Wales to an 11-5 record, including 8-2 in the GNAC.

“My confidence really grew last year,” said McCray. “I felt like I was getting to the best stage of my career. I have been playing the game for so many years and been to so many basketball camps, it got to be second nature.

“It's been a lot of work. We've all come a long way. I told my coach my sophomore year that I was going to make all-conference by my junior year.”

McCray and another senior, Japhet Kerr, are giving Johnson & Wales a one-two scoring punch as the Wildcats contend for a GNAC title and a spot in the NCAA Div. 3 tournament.

“I'm very versatile,” said McCray. “I can post up, take it to the hoop, shoot the mid-range shot. Coach allows us to play. We feel comfortable on the court. I see double teams this year, but my teammate is leading the conference in scoring, so they can't do it a lot.”

McCray is fourth in the GNAC, a long way from where he was as a freshman, sitting on the bench and hitting the weight room.

“You have to do the work, and he did,” said Benton. “He stayed in that weight room and worked on his game, too. I can honestly say I thought he could pan out to be this type of player if he did the work.”

Said McCray, “I had the confidence I could do it. I didn't miss a day. I wanted to make it more than anything. I knew I could play here. I just had to put the work in.”

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